Published 12:15 IST, January 6th 2020
Tropical Cyclone Blake forms off Western Australia's Kimberley coast
Tropical cyclone has formed off the northwestern coast of Australia. Cyclone Blake, which is currently a category 1 storm is expected to threaten the nation.
Tropical Cyclone Blake has formed off the northwestern coast of Australia on Monday, which is currently a category 1 storm is threatening the town of Broome with its destructive 125 km per hour winds as reported by the meteorologists. The cyclone is expected to bring relief amid the burning fires as it moves southwards.
Cyclone to make landfall in Wallal
Bureau of Meteorology is expecting the storm to turn into a category 2 storm on Tuesday or Wednesday making landfall in Wallal in western Australia. The department also said that Cyclone developed overnight and has warned people, locals, to prepare for the adverse weather. They have also instructed people to organise an emergency kit consisting of a first aid kit, a torch, portable radio, food, water and some spare batteries. Steph Bond, the duty forecaster said that they are expecting the conditions to deteriorate further in Western parts of Kuri Bay and Wallal Downs as the storm moves closer today. The bureau also issued a flood watch in the coastal areas of western Kimberley and eastern Pilbara.
The Cyclone is expected to provide some relief in the situation of raging bushfires. BOM has predicted the storm to move south through Pilbara and then proceed to the southeasterly areas of Goldfields and the interiors. Ms Bond, in a statement, said that it might bring heavy rainfall on Wednesday and Thursday. She also added that she is expecting the rainfalls to fall over Goldfields and other areas affected by fires near Norseman. Speculating that the showers might not be able to bring as much relief as people expect, she said that rainfall will reduce in strength and would not reach the eastern states in its current state.
More than 135 bushfires are still burning across the state, including almost 70 that were uncontained. The Rural Fire Service is warning the rain won’t put out the largest and most dangerous blazes before conditions deteriorate again this week. Australia’s capital, Canberra, had the worst air quality of any major city in the world on Monday morning. The Department of Home Affairs, which is responsible for coordinating the country’s response to disasters, told all non-critical staff to stay at home because of the abysmal air quality.
Updated 12:15 IST, January 6th 2020